Thanks again for the reviews and follows so far. A few of you mentioned the short chapters. Ya, if I make them any longer it will stress me out. The short chapters are easy for me to get out which allows me to update quickly. Seriously though… thanks for the feedback. Keep it comin'! :)

In the past 2 hours since the boys left, Kate had talked with Martha once again. She would be able to make it in around 10 am tomorrow. Alexis would be back a few hours after Martha. As selfish as it sounds she is happy that she will have the rest of the day to herself with Castle. She is also glad she won't have to be alone with Alexis. Martha will definitely be on Alexis' side, but it will be nice to have a third party involved.

She also spoke with Dr. Marshall again. He had come in to make sure everything was going well. She realized doctors don't do a lot of post-op room visits. He probably was a fan of Castle's work, influenced by the money Castle could drop for the hospital, or because apparently he was on the job when he was shot. Hospitals take care of cops well, and he was as much a cop as she was.

Dr. Marshall had informed Kate that they expected, barring any infections, to take Castle off of the heavy sleep drugs this afternoon. It was unsure how long it would take for him to wake up, but he could potentially be awake by tonight. Once he was awake, they would be able to see the extent of the injuries he sustained. It was looking positive though, because his feet twitched when tickled or pinched.

She hoped he would wake up quickly. She missed his voice so much. She missed his eyes, his smile. She even missed how annoying he can be, and Kate was willing to admit to such when he would wake up. Glancing at her watch she figured she had about 6 hours before she could even begin to expect Castle to wake up.

Preferably, Kate wished she could be helping the boys out with the investigation with this free time. There was no way that she would leave his side, but she could help go over the crime scene pictures, look through evidence, just something to keep her mind occupied and her hands busy. The adrenaline from the last few hours had worn off and now she just had to wait. The waiting game was never something she was good at.

Texting the boys for more info was out of the question. They would contact her when they were ready and she realized she needed to accept that. This was their turf now, and she would just be grateful for any information she would receive. It was going to take time and a lot of effort for her team (Yes, she was going to keep referring to them as such) to trust her again. She would fight for a chance to make it up to them.

The thoughts of her team, made her think of Lanie. She missed her best friend so much. Kate was never really close to many girl friends growing up, and once her mom died she wasn't close to anyone. Until she met Lanie. She never really realized it before, but Lanie was similar to Castle. She forced her way in to Kate's life through persistence, but with way more force than Castle ever used.

They started off as colleagues, then Lanie would invite her out for drinks every once in a while. Kate was so consumed by her mom's case at that time that she always turned down the invitation. Eventually, Lanie stopped inviting her and would just show up to the precinct to drag Kate away. Their mutual respect for each other quickly formed a trusting friendship. Kate rarely listened to anyone's opinions about her life decisions, but Lanie had a special way to see past Kate's bull shit and make her listen.

The last time she saw Lanie… yeah, it was pretty bad. Lanie was unearthing every insecurity Kate had about her life, her job, and her relationship with Castle. She was fighting dirty to keep her here, both for selfish reasons and because she knew Kate was making a mistake. The job she was offered was wonderful, a tribute to the hard work and dedication she had made to serving and fighting for justice, but it wasn't worth what she was giving up in the process. She was giving up her family, both blood and chosen. She was giving up her future, her happiness. Lanie didn't sugar coat this fact, and Kate wouldn't stay to listen to it. If she did, she would've surely changed her mind.

So, Kate left. She calmly told Lanie she knew what she was doing and to mind her own damn business. Before the door had even closed she regretted the harsh words. This wasn't how she wanted to leave her best friend. This wasn't supposed to be this hard. Her pride kept her from going back in to fix it.

Well, she sighed, it was probably time she made another phone call. This time she would use her own phone to call Dr. Parish. She knew that the boy's had already told her about Castle so at least she didn't have to repeat the story again. Nope, she was going to have to apologize and be ready for a battle with her. She was going to have to listen to Lanie tell her at least 1,000 times "I told you so".

To Be Continued